Nazis, the Catholic Church and sexual abuse.

Was reading Richard Evans The Third Reich in Power which has interesting material on how the Nazis treated the Catholic Church.
First of all it is clear that the Catholics (and the Catholic Centre Party) were regarded after the Communists and Socialists as the main opposition and the main targets of bringing the whole of German society under totalitarian control. One third of Catholic priests were imprisoned by the regime.

What is also interesting is that the main propaganda instrument used against the Catholic Church was allegations of child abuse. As we know such things did take place in other jurisdictions and no doubt in Germany as well, but the allegations were grossly exaggerated in order to justify the repression.

Are there parallels in this country? Are the instances of child sexual abuse by Catholic clerics which appear to be no higher than among any other cohort of the population being used as the basis for removing its influence from education and other spheres of life?

For comparative purposes, the Nazis themselves already had highly abusive institutions within their own apparatus. There were several rapes and murders of members of the Hitler Youth on camps during their campaign against the CC.

It was also shown that half of girls fostered in Sweden in the 1950s and 60s were abused and there are over half a million cases of children believed to be at risk reported in Britain every year.

So is the concentration on the Catholic Church ideologically driven? And if so for what purpose?

Actually your brethren don't come out well Cruimh. Even Pastor Nielmoller only abandoned his anti semitism after he was sent to Sachenhausen. He was one of tiny minority of Protestant clergy - as compared to Catholic- who dissented from Nazis. Electoral support for Nazis was also much hugher among Protestants.

Was reading Richard Evans The Third Reich in Power which has interesting material on how the Nazis treated the Catholic Church.
First of all it is clear that the Catholics (and the Catholic Centre Party) were regarded after the Communists and Socialists as the main opposition and the main targets of bringing the whole of German society under totalitarian control. One third of Catholic priests were imprisoned by the regime.

What is also interesting is that the main propaganda instrument used against the Catholic Church was allegations of child abuse. As we know such things did take place in other jurisdictions and no doubt in Germany as well, but the allegations were grossly exaggerated in order to justify the repression.

Are there parallels in this country? Are the instances of child sexual abuse by Catholic clerics which appear to be no higher than among any other cohort of the population being used as the basis for removing its influence from education and other spheres of life?

For comparative purposes, the Nazis themselves already had highly abusive institutions within their own apparatus. There were several rapes and murders of members of the Hitler Youth on camps during their campaign against the CC.

It was also shown that half of girls fostered in Sweden in the 1950s and 60s were abused and there are over half a million cases of children believed to be at risk reported in Britain every year.

So is the concentration on the Catholic Church ideologically driven? And if so for what purpose?

I was aware of this from reading the book "Heinrich Himmler" by Peter Longrich. There was a campaign accusing Catholics priessts and monks of paedophilia in the 1930s. Himmler was highly anti-Catholic by the time he became Reichsfuhrer SS even though he had been brought up a Catholic.

What is also interesting is that the main propaganda instrument used against the Catholic Church was allegations of child abuse. As we know such things did take place in other jurisdictions and no doubt in Germany as well, but the allegations were grossly exaggerated in order to justify the repression.

Are there parallels in this country? Are the instances of child sexual abuse by Catholic clerics which appear to be no higher than among any other cohort of the population being used as the basis for removing its influence from education and other spheres of life?

Is that your opinion or have you some facts to support this statement?

Actually your brethren don't come out well Cruimh. Even Pastor Nielmoller only abandoned his anti semitism after he was sent to Sachenhausen. He was one of tiny minority of Protestant clergy - as compared to Catholic- who dissented from Nazis. Electoral support for Nazis was also much hugher among Protestants.

The Catholics who dissented from the Nazis such as Pacelli - who went on to become Pope - who signed the Reichskonkordat in 1933 and Cardinal Faulhaber, who helped negotiate the concordat with Hitler (and who ordained the present pope), assessed its international impact in a 1937 sermon:

“At a time when the heads of the major nations in the world faced the new Germany with cool reserve and considerable suspicion, the Catholic Church, the greatest moral power on earth, through the Concordat expressed its confidence in the new German government.”

Seanie it's well known that certain High ranking card carrying members of the Nazi party exerted to much influence on the Holy Roman Catholic church and brought some of their evil and alien practices with them.So in answer to your question YES the best way to destroy all remnants of Nazism in Ireland is to finish off the Catholic church.

The child abuse scandal provides an opportunity to those who are hostile to the aims of the Catholic Church or have a different position on social affairs.

It is hardly suprising that they make use of that opportunity.

However, those of us who are not hostile and may share at least some of the social teachngs of the church, need to be able to distinguish between opportunistic and genuine criticism. Alas the Church has not made that easy for us.

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